Memorial Day

My Aunt Rosie’s Headstone.

As the holiday fast approaches many people are planning cookouts, family gatherings and enjoying time off. For a lot of people part of the holiday tradition includes visiting cemeteries and placing flowers on the grave stones of loved ones.

This is one of my families traditions. Since, I was a child, I’ve visited the cemetery with my Mom, Aunts and Grandmother to honor our loved ones. As we walked among the graves my relatives would describe ancestors who passed away many years before I was born. This helped me to get to know my ancestors beyond names and dates and black & white photographs.

Now that I am older, I realize how precious that tradition was and is. My beloved Granny (Anna Mae) used to walk the graves with us. She is no longer with us and I visit her grave now which is beside my Grandpa. My Daughter and Son walk with me and pay honor to our ancestors. I hope this is a tradition that they will maintain and pass on to their children.

This is a great time to document the location of headstones, grave and row and what cemetery they are located in. It also helps to take pictures of the headstones in relation to landmarks (fences, trees).

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2 thoughts on “Memorial Day”

You are so right about this tradition and what it means to pass along to your kids! I miss my walks in the cemetery with my grandmother, but I am glad she took me because my mom don’t know where everyone is buried she’s 71 and her memory is not good at all. Great idea, I may have to do this myself!! May need some tips on how to do this, so watch your e-mail!

Yes, this is a wonderful tradition! So glad you have experienced it! Please take time to do a simple map or place marks on the map that the cemetery has, to show where your ancestors are. Memory is great, but it can sometimes fail us. Feel free to inbox me!